Eurostar


The
Prime
Minister
has
supported
calls
for
Eurostar
to
serve
Ashford
again,
in
response
to
a
question
in
the
Commons
from
Ashford’s
MP
Sojan
Joseph.
Eurostar
trains
have
not
stopped
at
Ebbsfleet
or
Ashford
since
the
Covid
pandemic,
and
the
operator
has
not
announced
any
plans
to
do
so
in
the
near
future.
Sir
Keir
Starmer
said:
‘I
know
this
is
an
issue
of
considerable
frustration
to
his
constituents.
The
decision
in
question
is
ultimately
for
Eurostar,
but
we
are
keen
to
see
international
services
reinstated
to
Ashford
as
soon
as
possible
and
I
will
be
happy
for
the
Rail
Minister
to
update
him
on
the
latest
discussions.’

Metro


The
first
new
Stadler
train
for
Tyne
&
Wear
Metro
developed
a
fault
yesterday
and
was
withdrawn
from
service,
having
started
carrying
passengers
on
18
December. Nexus
head
of
fleet
and
depot
replacement
Michael
Richardson
said: ‘A
new
Metro
train
was
withdrawn
at
South
Gosforth
this
morning,
January
8,
due
to
a
technical
issue.
This
meant
that
a
reset
of
the
train
was
required.
Given
where
it
was
located,
and
the
time
of
day
it
occurred,
the
train
was
taken
out
of
service
to
minimise
disruption.
We’re
sorry
for
any
inconvenience
caused.
Unfortunately,
minor
issues
like
this
are
to
be
expected
in
the
early
stages
of
a
rolling
stock
introduction
programme
and
we
learn
from
them.’

Repairs


Major
repairs
to
the
roof
at
Bristol
Temple
Meads
station
have
been
delayed
again,
although
1900
individual
pieces
of
work
have
been
carried
out
so
far.
Network
Rail
said
blasting
grit
off
the
roof
has
revealed
additional
defects
in
the
exposed
steelwork,
and
that
the
repairs
‘still
have
a
fair
way
to
go’.
The
project
is
not
now
expected
to
be
finished
until
next
year.

HS2


Siemens
Mobility
has
been
awarded
four
contracts
by
HS2
Ltd
worth
a
total
of
560
million
pounds.
They
cover
Command,
Control,
Signalling
&
Traffic
Management,
the
Engineering
Management
System,
High
voltage
power
supply
systems
(a
joint
venture
with
Costain
Ltd)
and
Operational
Telecommunications
and
Security
Systems.
Work
on
all
these
contracts
is
due
to
start
this
year.
They
include
long-term
maintenance
agreements,
and
additional
options
are
also
possible.